U of I student builds veterinary experience at a Costa Rica clinic

When Saige Grundman received an email about a hands-on veterinary experience in Costa Rica, she knew it was the perfect opportunity to expand her skills. Grundman, a University of Idaho junior studying animal and veterinary science: pre-veterinary option, traveled to La Suerte, Costa Rica in June 2023 as part of the Maderas Rainforest Conservancy Veterinary Field Training Mission. She was one of 14 undergraduate students selected to participate in the 10-day program.

Lectures and labs were followed by hands-on experiences at a three-day spay and neuter clinic offered in the rural area near the La Suerte Biological Field Station. Participants assisted a veterinarian during surgeries, performed intake and post-op procedures and placed catheters in animals.

The ability to assist during surgery wasn’t something that Grundman would have been able to experience in the United States where strict regulations limit what students are allowed to do at a veterinary clinic.

“I came out of the experience with so much more knowledge about everything to do with surgery and animal care,” Grundman said. “As an undergrad applying to vet school, I think that’s going to set me apart on my applications because it was so hands-on, and we got to really get in there and learn a ton.”

Grundman also felt she grew by taking a chance on an experience with a lot of unknowns.

“I didn’t know anyone that was going and wasn’t sure what to expect,” she said. “I would say that I grew by putting myself out there even though I wasn’t sure what the experience would bring me.”

Future veterinarian

Originally from Rio Dell, California, Grundman grew up knowing that she wanted to become a veterinarian.

“A lot of kids are like, ‘I want to be a vet,’ and that was me, but it never went away,” she said.

When she was a junior in high school her mother encouraged her to find a job with a veterinary clinic to make sure becoming a veterinarian was truly what she wanted to do. She spent her senior year working as a kennel technician assistant and every experience since then has only strengthened her childhood dream.

Grundman focused her search for undergraduate pre-vet programs on locations with outdoor opportunities. She visited U of I in February 2021, but a snowstorm had shut down campus on the day of her scheduled tour. Stacey Doumit, a senior instructor in the Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, offered to give Grundman and her family a private tour of the campus and Moscow community.

“That really was the thing that set the University of Idaho apart from the other schools was that personal connection,” Grundman said. “It really made it feel like I wasn’t moving up here alone because I had someone that I’d made a connection with.”

Another selling point for Grundman was the fact that U of I was scheduled to be fully in-person by fall 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also intrigued by the number of hands-on experiences offered at U of I.

“Freshman year you have an animal science course that you have a hands-on lab with and that’s not that common in these programs,” she said. “It kept me interested. From my freshman year to now I’ve been taking AVS courses all three years.”

Grundman will begin applying for veterinary school this spring and the experiences in Costa Rica and at U of I will help her stand out from the crowd.